Handle for cans



March 17, 1953 R. s. Ross,

HANDLE FOR CANS Filed March a, 1952 INVENTOR. Pose-RT 5. Pas; f.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,631,883 HANDLE FORCANS Robert S. Ross, Santa Monica, Calif.

Application March 8, 1952, Serial No. 275,529 2 Claims. (01. 294 33) Thepresent invention relates to an improved holder for drinking vessels,such as beer cans and the like.

In accordance with present-day practice, beverages, such as beer, aresold in tin cans. oftentimes the contents of the can is consumed fromthe apertured can itself. Some inconvenience results from this practice,especially when the can is cold and sweats.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved holder for metal cans for convenientuse with such drinking cansto avoid the necessity of contacting the can directly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedholder of this type which may be readily applied to the can and removedtherefrom as desired after use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved holderof the character described which may be made so inexpensively as to beconsidered expandable, thus avoiding the necessity of removing theholder after a use.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedholder of the character described characterized by the ease with whichit may be disposed on a can quickly.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. This inventionitself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood byreference to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a conventional present-day beercan having a holder embodying features of the present invention disposedthereon in clamping relationship.

Figures 2 and 3 are views taken in the directions indicated by thearrows 2--2 and 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the holder as shown in Figure 1removed from the can.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the holder shown in Figure 4 in fulllines and also in the dotted line position the individual parts thereofa assume when the can, having the reference character C, is insertedinto the holder.

The holder, having the general reference numeral I0, is arranged toreceive and resiliently clamp a cylindrical can, such as a conventionalbeer can 0.

The holder Ii] is preferably formed of two .bent

wires welded one to the other at H, 12. These two wires 53, i i arecomplementary and are bent to provide a resilient clamping member havingan opening it through which a can is adapted to be inserted in themanner shown in Figure 5. When and as such can C is inserted into thesaid opening I6 the complementary wires l3, I4 forming such holder areinitially cammed one away from the other by the cylindrically shaped canC. Such camming action occurs until the vertical legs I3A, MA, definingsuch opening I6, con tact diametrically spaced portions of thecylindrical can C, after which the energy stored in the wires at thisstage draw the can C into its final position, shown in Figure 1, withinthe holder. In this latter position the arcuately shaped portions I313,i3C and ME, MG, shaped generally in accordance with the outlines of thecylindrical can, snugly engage the can to resiliently hold the can inposition. However, as an added precaution against the can slipping outof the holder in accordance with gravity forces acting thereon, the endsof such wires l3, M are bent radially inwardly and upwardly to form thecorresponding portions ME, 13E, adapted to con-i tact the underside ofthe can centrally thereof. Preferably, these ends I3E, ME are extendedas indicated to contact the central portion of the bottom of the can andthus serve as stop members, but the same result may be achieved byshortening such portions BE, ME so as to provide contact only with thebottom annular rim of the can at the bends MF, 53F.

It is noted that the wire I3 comprises a lower annular section I3B whichis contiguous to a vertically disposed portion 13G. This portion 13G iscontiguous to a horizontally extending base portion I3H which in turn iscontiguous to a vertically upward extending handle portion I3J. Thehandle portion I3J in turn is contiguous to the arcuately shaped uppercan gripping portion [30 and such portion ISC is contiguous to thedownwardly vertically extending portion l3A which is joined to theportion I3E through the bend I3F adapted to snugly engage the bottom rimof the can C.

It is noted further that the wires [3, [4 are complementary one to theother with the can clamping portions of each disposed on opposite sidesof the can between the vertically spaced differences. In other words,the can engaging portion I313 is on the opposite side of the canengaging portion 13C and at a lower elevation; this is true also of thecan engaging portions MB and MC. Stated in still other words, themembers I30 and MB, considered as a unit, form. one face of theresilient clamping wire, the elements I3B and MC form the othercooperating face of the same clamp.

It is noted further that the portions I3H, MH and bends 13F, 14F providefeet for the holder allowing the composite holder and assembled can tobe maintained in an upright position on a fiat table top surface.

While the particular embodiments .of the present invention have beenshown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from thisinvention in its broader .as-. pects and, therefore, the aim in theappended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A resilient article holder of th character describedmade solely ofwire, said holder being adapted to resiliently engage and hold inposition a conventional cylindrical can such as a beer can, said holdercomprising arcuate shaped can engaging portions disposed on oppositesides of the can, there being at least two such arcuate sections on eachside of the can at difierent spaced elevations, a vertical wire sectionconnecting said arcuate shaped sections of different elevations and onopposite sides of said can, said vertical wire section being spaced fromsaid arcuate shaped sections and shaped to form a handle for saidholder, and the lower end of said vertical wire section being benthorizontally to provide a foot or support for the holder for supportingthe article on a fiat surface in an upright position, the forward endsof said arcuate shaped sections terminating a region substantiallydiametrically opposite said vertical wire section and said ends, arcuateshaped sections on the same side of the can being connected bycorresponding second vertically extending sections, thereby defining anopening through which a can may be pressed into said arcuate shapedsections for resilient engagement therewith, said second verticalsections being bent at each of their lower ends to snugly encircle thebottom flange on the can inserted in the holder.

:2. The invention defined in claim 1 characterized by the fact that thebent ends of said second vertically extending sections are extendedradially inwardly and upwardly with respect to a can in said holder tocontact the can at its bottom end circularly thereof.

ROBERT S. ROSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,594,792 Mortimer Aug. .3, 19262,049,219 Muschinske- July 28, 1936 2,063,805 .Goetting Dec.=8, 1-936FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 115,111 Germany. Nov. 2.4, 1900

